North South East West
by hikahika
Summary: [Chapter 4]New enemies, new battles, the path that lays ahead isn't exactly an easy one... [KaiTakaTyKa]
1. Phase 1, Part 1

North South East West

-minted*candi

A/N::

Candi: ^^ I'm back guys!!! *waves arms wildly around* Did'ya miss me? Hmmm?

Mist: _ Who would?

Candi: *pouts* My lovely, lovely reviewers, of course… ^^ .___. By the way, I'm sorry I cleared up all the reviews… there seemed to be a problem when I tried to edit the chapters instead of uploading new ones… so this was the only choice… heheheh…

Mist: Hn.

Candi: Anyway, I was in this HORRIBLE writer's block, and I couldn't continue from where I was previously. So you know what I did? =)

Mist: *siiiiigh*

Candi: I re-did the whole thing! The last one was VERY VERY messed up… didn't get the directions right, didn't get the elements right… didn't get the characters right… NOR the japanese… So I've improved it… Worked on it, and made improvements here and there. The old plot is mainly there… but Aoi and Akane have different roles now… Hehehe… This making the couple choice even wider… I had a few requests to NOT include shounen-ai (-can't write Yaoi) and a few requests to do a TyKa… O_O Well guys, let's get into serious voting… I'm going to hint TyKa, but not much hinting – probably will seem natural unless you've got sharp eyes. =)

Mist: "Sharp" eyes… she defines a lot with that…

Candi: U______U 

Mist: Hn.

Candi: Anyway, there are a few more complications to the story… but most of the notes would stay the same!!! Hai!!! Oh, just a side note, but I really AM a Beyblade greenhorn… most of my information on the characters come from fansites… so well… .___. Please do drop me a pointer if the characters seem weird!!! *rolls up sleeves* Atashi gambarimaaaasu!!!—Mist… the disclaimer.

Mist: It's always me… *sigh* minted*candi does not own Beyblade. If she did, the sun would rise from the west, and she wouldn't be here writing this thing.

Candi: Yay Mist… You are so original.

Mist: _ Hmph.

Candi: ^^ Anyway, I'll be using their Japanese names for this!!! 

[Btw, the characters' personalities are after the G-Revo series… but yet I have not really watched G-Revo, so the storyplot won't click. O.o I must thank the Jap fansites for G-Revo info…]

Takao – Tyson

Rei – Ray

Kai – Kai

Max – Max

Kyojyu – Kenny

-----+-----

+Prologue+

__

Long, long ago, the oracle of Creation – Tsuu created a universe. The people of this universe had lived happily and closely together, though they were on different worlds.

People that time were all-pure hearted and knew nothing much about coveting, jealousy, envy, anger, hatred, and any of the unpure virtues. But one day, for no reason – just as nearly everything in the universe come about – the people suddenly found out life was unfair.

Yes, if they did not bother about other people, if they did not obstruct people or harm people, they would not be able to achieve their goals.

During that dark era, those people of unpure heart became known as Humans. They were still pure, but not as pure as they were when they were first created.

And then, just as it suddenly began, the worlds started to repel each other – wars between various worlds, bloodshed, pain and tears.

They had to be separated.

So they were separated. That was the rule of the universe. 

As centuries past, none of the world's inhabitants knew of their old friends and remembered their existence.

The worlds grew in their own way.

Each world had their own keeper, their own guardian. 

Earth, one of the worlds, had one guardian – God.

Mekaiina had five guardians, since it was a larger, and stronger world. Its people had powers that the people of other worlds did not possess.

Thus, five guardians lay down an oath, to each protect one direction of Mekaiina.

Suzaku – the fire phoenix – guarded the south of Mekaiina.

Seiryuu – the water dragon – guarded the east of Mekaiina.

Byakko – the storm tiger – guarded the west of Mekaiina.

Genbu – the earth tortoise – guarded the north of Mekaiina.

And one last god – one that no one really knew about, guarded the middle. The center of Mekaiina.

The god of the center was upset. Since no one knew who was guarding the center – much less know that the center was being guarded – no one worshipped the god of the center.

In the beginning, the god of the center worked hard alongside the other 4 to make Mekaiina a better place for its inhabitants.

But after a while, the god of the center stopped.

Why work when no one recognized your efforts? Why care when no one cared about you?

The god of the center then started to plot. Stopped working and saved energy. 

And when the time came, when the god of the center finally gained enough strength, the god [1] sealed off Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu into their own respective directions.

No one expected this. No one was alert enough to notice it.

Thus the four gods were sealed off. And the god of the center was known. Finally.

To be one of the most cruel gods in the universe…

But Seiryuu and Suzaku have been doubting the center god – they were more alert and suspicious of the people around them than Byakko and Genbu. They had cast a spell – set a trap along with Genbu and Byakko.

So that if they were to be destroyed, or sealed off, after a decade 4 of their chosen ones would come from another world to unseal them, and defeat the center god.

And now… one decade had just past… The time has come…

+End Prologue+

[*][+]~[+][*]

****

[Phase 1][Part 1][Fire.Water.Seijyutsukai?]

__

The more you know, the more you don't know…

"Uwaaaa…! Gotsusosamaaaa---!!!" [gotsusosama – something you say after you've finished eating… it's like a courtesy thing for Japanese…] 

"You eat too much, Takao…" Max looked at his best friend, and the mountain of plates in front of him.

The midnight-blue haired boy looked at Max, and raised an eyebrow at the blond, "Food is one of my only pleasures of life… don't deprive me of it… and I'm not that fat anymore…"

"It isn't whether you are fat or not that matters…" Kyojyu pointed out, but Takao waved an arm to silence him.

"Come on, we should get going… end of lunch…" Rei stood up, trying desperately to change the topic. 

Takao had lately been quite argumentative when it came to food and him, and Rei made it a point to stop the usual one-hour debate to begin once more.

Takao blinked, looked at the chinese blader, blinked again, before grinning and standing up – the argumentative thoughts evaporating from his brain.

Kai stood up next, not speaking, not doing much, and as usual, not showing much expression.

And it was at this moment that the light flashed. Twice.

Once, blue. Once, red.

It wasn't anything special. No one really did anything much. Just the flashes of light…

… And the two were gone, leaving their friends rooted the spot in surprise.

"Takao!? Kai!?"

__

The time has come…

-----+-----

"Oooowww…" Takao blinked, and a blue sky came into focus. His head hurt, and his vision slightly blurred. His hands wandered in a circle around him, feeling grass and tiny wildflowers. Funny. Weren't they in a café eating lunch just now?

Frowning, he propped himself up on his elbows, and took a better look at his surroundings.

Lush green trees, shrubs, bushes and wild grass.

Did the café just get a makeover?

He shook his head – of course not. He was just somewhere else.

How much logic that sentence made he did not really bother to think through.

Running a hand through his messy fringe, he stood up shakily. Taking in his surroundings once more, confirming his guesses.

He wasn't in Japan anymore – let say the café – he was somewhere else.

Where, though?

The silence in the clearing was rather alarming, and the midnight-haired world champion [2] felt his muscles tense as a breeze blew by, rustling tree leaves and bushes.

He looked around him – the atmosphere had changed, the blue sky was no longer blue, more grey than blue now.

Even if he wasn't in Japan, there was no excuse for such a weather condition…

He swallowed. Funny how the change in atmosphere could affect him this badly. It just didn't feel right. He had never really felt like this before… 

Something was wrong. Something was missing. Something was…

"Kinomiya! Down!" [3]

It was as if his subconscious mind took over as he threw himself flat on the ground just as the voice reached his ears. The tone of the voice made him fall straight away into the command.

Just a millisecond after he threw himself down, a gust of wind swept past his head, and a dull thud was heard somewhere else.

He blinked, not daring to move. What was that?

A pair of shoes came into view and he looked at them incredulously. Waaaiiit a minute, why did this pair of shoes look like…

"Kai?"

"Hn." 

"What are you doing here?" Takao pushed himself upward with his free hand. Nope, he definitely did not like to be 'kissing the ground' when Kai was near him.

Kai shrugged, "Just as you are here, so am I."

Takao blew at his fringe – even Kai did not know – he might as well forget about being able to get answers. Then he remembered. 

Looking ahead of him, the area from which he had heard the dull thump previously, he saw a row of fallen trees. Had the gust of wind done that? He walked forward cautiously until he was at the stump of the closest tree that had fallen. It seemed as though something of great force had hit the tree, caused it to fall, and past through the other trees in that particular row.

"It could've been you." Came Kai's silent comment as he watched the boy gape.

"But…" Takao looked at the older boy next to him. But he could not sort out the questions in his mind. 

"…Thanks." He mumbled. If he couldn't ask, he could at least express his 'gratitude'. No matter how much he didn't like to admit it, Kai Hiwatari had saved him from the fate of being like those fallen trees, and Takao Kinomiya did not like to deny the fact that someone had saved him.

"Welcome." Kai shrugged off the remark.

"What was that… _thing…_ though…?" Hazel brown eyes blinked in confusion.

"Magic," Kai bent down near the closest fallen tree and ran a finger along the place where the bark had split. "Wind magic."

"Haaa…?" Takao raised an eyebrow, "Magic? Kai, seriously, are you alright? First you are saving my life, then you're trying to tell me that it was magic that…"

In midsentence Kai had already leapt next to him and pushed him down onto the ground once more.

Takao did not like the ground.

Takao did not like Kai pushing him to the ground.

  
But he was grateful once more as this time _two_ gusts of wind swept past, falling a few more rows of trees.

But then again, he did _not_ like being saved by Kai twice in a row. He just didn't like it. [4]

"What in the world is happening…?" Takao started, annoyed and visably confused.

"Stay down." Came Kai's reply – not answering his question in any way or another.

Afew more torrents of wind – each getting stronger and following the previous gust at a quicker interval.

"We've got to get ready to run soon…"

"Why?" 

Another question unanswered.

Kai growled and leapt away from his spot on the ground, a blast of wind forming a dent in that exact spot. Takao gulped.

He wasn't very, very good at these kind of games…

… In fact, he knew where the next blast was going to hit… so…

… Wait a minute…

He cocked his head to his right as the blast of wind swept past, leaving him untouched.

He knew. He knew where the source of wind was coming from. He knew where it was going to hit next.

He knew how to stop it.

__

The time has come, chosen one of Water… [5]

A voice… And his mind went blank.

__

"Kono yo no naka no subete no aoi mono: Umi, ame, kawa yo. Ima, koko ni, aoi no ryuu no na wo kake, mizu no chikara wo ware no mono ni nare…!" [6]

"… Kinomiya…" Kai's eyes widened, watching the world champion in front of him glow blue – or was it still Takao? The voice was different, the look was different…

The aura emitted was different.

This wasn't Takao.

'Takao' evaded blast after blast of wind with ease and flowing simplicity, seemingly experienced and more calm than usual. Then he stopped, a bright blue ball of energy forming around both his hands.

__

"Seiryuu! Chikara wo dase!!!" [7]

Two clean swipes, causing two blurs of blue energy to sweep through the air, crashing into a nearby rock, shattering it in one blow and the creature beneath it. 

Kai only nodded, confirming his guess at the second's glimpse of the creature – a large scorpion, missing the dim flash of blue light that flickered thrice around Takao, and the large blue dragon that appeared for a millisecond.

The pale blue light around Takao ceased as he collapsed onto his knees, blinking wearily.

"Kinomiya… you…" Kai looked at the younger blader who had regained his usual aura.

"I…?" Takao ran a hand through his hair and plopped down on the grass, panting slightly, "What happened? Waaa… I'm so tired…"

Kai paused to look around him – the threatening aura that was once around the area had died down, the creature of Wind probably defeated… by Takao?

It didn't make sense.

Takao did not know magic of any form…

… Right?

"OIIIIIII!!! YOU TWO OVER THERE!!!"

"Hn?" Kai turned around, only to see a girl with pale blue hair waving at both of them, appearing seemingly from the clearing.

Weird, Kai remembered not sensing any presense of a human just now…

"Waaahhh… and to think Elder Rashii sent me here to rid this Scorpion beast AND I see YOU…" She looked at Takao to further state her point, "Kill it just like THAT. You must be some lord of some clan, right? And such a strong Seijyuu too!"

"Me…?" Takao blinked at the girl, drained of nearly all his energy to be able to speak full sentences. "…Seijyuu…?"

"Yes. Seijyuu." The girl looked at the confused boy, cocking her head to one side, "You don't know what a Seijyuu is?"

"No." Takao stated simply, looking at Kai expectantly, "Kai…?"

"Seijyuu… holy beast…" Kai looked from Takao to the girl, "But what has that got to do with Kinomiya…?"  


"What has it got to do?!" The girl shierked, "He just cast such a strong WATER spell and you ask me what has it got to do!? He's a very very strong Seijyuutsukai, a very strong one… Only caught a glimpse of his Seijyuu though… didn't really see what it was…" The girl soon started to mumble to herself, leaving a very confused Takao and a frowning Kai looking at her.

She paused through her rambling, then blinked at them.

Silence.

"Aheh… ooops…" She grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of her head, "I should explain it all, but not here… Follow me to my village – Jyuukei, village of the Seijyuutsukai… You look tired anyway," She beamed at Takao, who blinked back cluelessly at her.

"Follow you?" Kai raised an eyebrow, "In this state?" He motioned to Takao, who attempted to stand up – to no avail.

"You people have a weird way of looking at things here…" The girl cocked her head, "I mean teleportation of course! Jyuukei is _miles_ away from this area!"

Teleportation…? Takao looked at the girl, gaping.

What was this talk about magic? First Kai, then this stranger who came running up and calling him a what? … Seijyuu-something…

Before he could muster up the strength to ask another question, the girl was already scratching a chalk circle around them, before standing in the circle as well.

__

"Shiroi ookami yo, kono yo no subete no kaze yo… ware wo koko ni dasu! Jyuukei e!" [8]

A flash of pale lavender light surrounded them, and in a flash, the trio disappeared from the clearing.

-----+-----

__

//Listen to your heart… user of fire…//

Kai sat up, looking around him cautiously. He just had a strange dream. Something that he could not really remember…

"Ah! Kai! You're awake!" 

The crimson-eyed blader turned to see Takao, happily sipping some kind of tea on a cushion while the girl whom they had met just now brought in another cup of tea, setting it down before him.

He took in his surroundings in one glance. A normal house, rather small, complete with a table and a few cushions around it, and he himself was sitting upright in some kind of makeshift bed.

"You guys really are weird… Couldn't take the strain of teleportation… the first time I've seen people like that…" The girl motioned to the cup of tea, "Go on, drink… no poison, if that's what you are worrying about…" She answered automatically at Kai's slight frown.

Kai picked up the cup, never losing eye contact with the girl's cerulean depths, and took a sip.

Tasted ok, no signs of poison.

"Told you so," The girl shrugged and rolled her eyes a bit, "Have no motive to poison you anyway."

"Naa… Could you please just explain about this thing? I'm terribly confused…" Takao asked the girl, seemingly impatient to let out all his questions.

"I would, and I could… but for one thing, I would like to ask a question. You guys aren't from Mekaiina, right?"

"Meka…?" Takao looked at the girl, raising an eyebrow.

"No." Kai shook his head, "Earth."

"Ah… Earth…" The girl nodded, taking a sip out of her cup of tea, before spitting it out.

"EARTH!?"

Takao, overwhelmed at her reaction, backed away slightly, sweatdropping, "Eh… yes…?"

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, the girl regained her composure before bowing to them, "Pardon me for being rude, Isekai no Seijyuutsukai-sama." [Isekai no Seijyuutsukai-sama – The Seijyuutsukai from another world. –sama is added to implement great respect.]

"Haaa?…" Takao looked from the girl to Kai. He thought he could never be any more confused.

Now he had gotten more confused than possible.

-----+-----

[Tsuzuku!]

Haaaaaiii… *rubs neck* That took me a while… If you guys noticed, this chapter is a little different to the old first chapter… a little more complicated, if you ask me… I had problems finding the right words to use… O_o

Also, though this isn't really a debut fic now… I still could save some pointers… I mean… KAI IS SO HARD TO GRASP!!! ;___; It's hard not making him speak… 

Also, I've still not thought up on what couples I want to use… Most probably a TyKa, this one… but as you could see… I didn't drop any obvious hints… Depending on what my readers want, this may become a Takao/OC, Kai/OC and so on… Doesn't really matter to me. Heh.

Please R&R for me… I need comments to improve… ;____; Comments, suggestions, constructive flames = welcome, idiotic flames will be extinguished by Takao-chan! ^.^~ 

Side notes, nonsensical stuff, and author notes:

+I have a lot of these, ne?+

[1] Sorry for the continuous usage of "the god of the center"… I don't want to give away _any_ information on this god, so pardon my vocab usage. Hehehe…

[2] If I'm not wrong… Takao won the world championships twice in a row…? O_O - idiot with STM… ;___; Gomen if I got this wrong, let's just pretend, ne?~ ^^***

[3] As a major problem in my previous chapter 2… Kai never calls Takao Takao… he either goes Kisama or Kinomiya in the jap version. I'm a loyal jap version fan… eheh… [According to those TyKa fansites, Kai DOES call Takao Takao during certain moments… I don't know… *shrugs*]

[4] I doubt Takao-chan's pride would really allow that… eheh…

[5] Well, ignoring all the conflict I had in the previous 2 chapters, what with Seiryuu being wind or something, for this story, I've set Seiryuu as water… sorry if I'm wrong and all, but there was just too much conflict for that topic. Just in case, I'll write here, Suzaku is fire, Byakko is Thunder and Genbu is Earth. If I'm wrong… Let me stay wrong… Sorry guys… *bow*

[6] Mainly my miscellanous jap blabberings… This phrase mainly means…

All the blue things in this world: The ocean, the rain, the rivers and streams. Hereby, in the name of the blue dragon, I shall wield the powers of water.

[^The above english sentence was not totally directly translated, as the direct translation would seem weird. I'm also a greenhorn in jap, correct me if there are any errors in this… heh.]

[7] Another jap blabbering… Mainly means, "Seiryuu, unleash your power!" Simple enough.

[8] I'm so fond of jap blabberings… O_o Mainly means, "White wolf, all the winds of the world, take us away from this place! Jyuukei!" The name of the place – Jyuukei, in this case – will determine the teleportation's main direction of transportation. Heh. I make no sense sometimes.

[Next chapter we get the answers!!! To most things, anyway… X3]


	2. Phase 1, Part 2

North South East West

-minted*candi

A/N::

*bows* Thank you all for all your lovely, lovely reviews!!! I am eternally grateful for them!!! ^^ And I shall take the chance to plug in the 2nd chapter of North South East West! WAIIII! X3

Mist: …

It's a TyKa! From what I've been seeing in my reviews I seem to have a lot of TyKa fans reading this story. Heh. So I've decided NSEW is a TyKa!!! *dramatic music in background* But of course, I won't have them jumping into each others' arms and proclaiming their love for each other… That is… weird… and I won't be able to keep the characters in… So I'll still have my little hints… that get larger as the chapters pass… and then… X3 Nyahahaha… [No Yaoi. Pure Shounen-ai desu!]

But one thing's for sure! It's TyKa decided! ^__________^ *beams*

^_^ And the replies to my reviews! ^^ THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! MIGHTY WORSHIPPABLE REVIEWERS!!! *dances around them*

Feelin Glayish-sama: O_O You reviewed! One of my idols reviewed!!! Thank you very much! I'm happy to hear that you found the story interesting… ^^ *bows* I think I'm starting to become a little too addicted to TyKa now… O_o Maybe I won't be able to accept any other coupling… heh. ^^***

****

Kyoko-chan: Thank you Xi Ying! ^^ You're always so nice~ ^^~ I'll try and reduce the confusion in this chapter… I'm sure a bit of answers might help… or maybe not… heh. 'The more you know, the less you know' yea? X3

****

Losingmymind-sama: Thank you! (Heh. I'm getting repetive) Glad you found it interesting~ ^^ Here's the second chapter!

****

KageYuri-sama: Aww shucks… you flatter me… I think you write great stories too! ^^ Don't lose confidence in yourself! ^^!

****

GoDdEsS-oF-nAtUrE-sama: Here's the second chapter! ^^

****

PinkDevil-sama: *booooooooooow* I think I've received too much praise for my own good. Heh. ^^ You have 'sharp eyes'! YAY!!! X3 TyKa yea? *bounces*

****

Kiina-sama: I continued! ^^ And it's a TyKa too! YAY! X3 Hee hee hee… And yesh… you are very very far away from where I am now… Thank the internet for making places so far seem so close! ^.^~

****

TechnoRanma-sama: Yesh… an adventure… with romance mixed in. Yayness… X3 And it's a TyKa!!! X3 Wheeeeeeee~

****

Mystic-sky-dragon-sama: Eh… no, it's not a Fuushigi Yuugi fusion and crossover. Not all stories with the four gods has got something to do with FY… Honestly. ^^* This is purely Beyblade mixed with my inspirations and research on chinese mythology! ^^ And it's updated~ Thank you for your review~ ^^~ Glad you like!

Aaaand the disclaimer!!!

Mist: Next time, go pay someone else to do it for you. Heck, you don't even pay me.

Just say it, Yaaaamiiii… _

Mist: Hmph. Minted*Candi can never own Beyblade, she lacks the talent in character creating and story plot weaving and most of her stories don't end anyway, let alone go into the 3rd season…

Ok, ok… enough…! _ You take the chance to insult me EVERYTIME!

Mist: *smirks*

So anyway… Japanese names for all!

Takao – Tyson

Kai – Kai

Rei – Ray

Max – Max

Kyojyu – Kenny (He won't appear anymore, anyway… I think. O_o)

[*][+]~[+][*]

****

[Phase 1][Part 2][Black.White.Grey]

__

Never judge a person by the colour…

"Whoa… whoaaa… sloooow dooowwwnnn…" Takao flailed his arms wildly in the air at the girl who was currently bowing in worship at him, Kai watching the comedy in front of him with mild interest. "Don't bow!!!"

"I'm sorry for not being respectful…" The girl stopped bowing but continued to stay knelt down in front of the midnight-blue haired boy.

"Gah. Stand up… I see no reason in you having to be respectful to me… well, at least not _this _respectful…" Takao scratched the back of his head, "I don't even know your name…"

"Aoi, sir. Aoi Kutamaki," The girl gave a pert bow, while Takao – who was struggling with all the formal actions, bowed back.

"I'm Takao Kinomiya… and I'm no… what did you call me? Iseki no… what?"

"Isekai no Seijyutsukai…" Kai answered for Aoi, the answer coming out as a murmur, and he went back to silence. There was something he couldn't understand, and he was going to work it out.

Takao looked at Kai and raised an eyebrow, "Well, that explains everything…"

Aoi blinked, "I think I should explain a bit about this… at least, all I know of… We've only heard legends about you and all…"

"Legends?"

"Yes…" Aoi motioned for Takao to sit down, waiting for him to plop down on one of the cushions before she sat, "A legend handed down for a decade in Jyuukei… Not a very old legend, but we were brought up with it. Long, long ago, Mekaiina had five guardians – Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, Genbu, and a god that no one knew about. The god was angry because no one cared about what the god did, so the god saved energy and sealed Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu…" Aoi trailed off, seemingly trying to recall what came next.

"Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu…?" Takao scratched his head, "But isn't that…?"

"Our bitbeasts," Kai replied once more, and went back to keeping quiet.

"And…!" Aoi clapped her hands together, finally remembering what came next, "Before the god sealed them off… Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu cast a spell… and that spell was mainly a spell that would summon the four chosen ones of Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu from another World – Earth – to unseal them and fight the god…" 

"Ah…" Takao nodded, "So?"

Kai sweatdropped and Aoi slapped her forehead, before quickly regaining her composure, "Well… I'm not very sure… because the god doesn't like us telling that legend, all the people who knew the full version were killed… The god is cruel… The god is not fit to be a god! We all hate god, but we cannot do anything about it…" 

"And so you are going to depend on these 4 chosen ones to fight your god," Kai frowned, "That's irresponsible."

"If there was a way we could fight god, a decade would not have past and Takao-sama would not have arrived." Aoi frowned and replied stubbornly, "The god is not afraid of any weapons or any magic. The god is a god. We cannot defeat the god. Only a god can fight a god – that is the rule of the universe." [1]

"… So you're trying to say that I'm supposed to kill this… god?" Takao looked at Aoi, eyes wide in shock, "I can't do that! I don't even know what I did to that Scorpion thingy!!! And why is it just me! Kai came to this world too!"

Aoi shook her head in confusion, "But only Takao-sama showed signs of a Seijyutsukai… and the chosen four would all be Seijyutsukai…"

"Hold! Hold! Hold!!!" Takao flapped his arms wildly at Aoi, who sweatdropped,

"Eh… yes?"

"I don't even know what a Seijyutsukai is…" Takao grinned sheepishly. Aoi tried not to facefault, and she continued as patiently as one could,

"Mekaiina is a world of magic and sorcery, but magic is split into different forms. [Seijyutsukai] is just a name for a type of magic. [Elementals] are people who are born with the gift to produce magic from an element itself. A [Seijyutsukai] is someone different. He or she would have elemental powers too, but it will be borrowed from one of the many holy beasts in the world. Most [Seijyutsukai] can summon their own beasts, and their strength depends very much on their holy beast, it's like… borrowing magic… in a way…"

"Aaaa…" Takao sweatdropped, "I think I get it… more or less…"

"You're trying to say Kinomiya can use magic?" Kai raised an eyebrow at Aoi, who nodded fervently. 

"Impossible." Kai shrugged, "The guy shows no signs of magical talent – not even here. He may have summoned something, but honestly, do you feel his aura?"

Takao blinked, and Aoi frowned.

"It's quite true, he doesn't have an aura… but I was sure it flared just now when he defeated the scorpion beast. And you," She stopped scratching her chin in deep thought and turned to Kai, "You do know a lot."

"I know more than people think I know."

Aoi's cerulean eyes darkened, "How much do you think I know that you know?"

"Not enough," Came Kai's simple reply, his crimson eyes baring into the girl's.

Takao blinked and looked back and forth from the two in front of him. 

It was like watching a tennis match.

Correction. It was like watching a tennis match without knowing what tennis was.

"Aoi Kutamaki of the Silver Wolf! You have a message from the elders!"

The voice interrupted the tense silence, Aoi stood up with a last look at Kai, then hurried over to the door. 

"…Kai…?"

"What?"

"Since we're in Mekaiina or something… Is there a way to go back? To Earth?" Takao asked, visably worried, "I don't really like this place… I mean, Aoi's nice and all… but…"

"It doesn't feel right," Kai finished for him, looking around the house, "There's this feeling in the air, and I don't like it."

Takao opened his mouth to say something, but before a syllable could come out, Aoi re-entered, frowning, "News pass too fast in Jyuukei… The elders are requesting to meet you, Takao-sama."

"Me?" Takao pointed incredulously at himself, and Aoi nodded. "Just me?"

"I'm going too," Kai stood up and dusted himself off, while Aoi shook her head,

"The elders have only requested Takao-sama…"

Kai snorted, "I don't care what the elders request. I'm going. Kinomiya is not going anywhere without me here." [2]

Of course, he didn't _care _about Takao. It was just that Takao knew nothing of Mekaiina. Yea, that's right. He did not care. He did_ not_ care… Kai had learnt something about convincing himself. He just had to repeat something a few times and he would believe so. And now, he was trying to convince himself – again.

Takao brightened up, "Well, if Kai can't go, then I won't go too!"

Aoi looked slightly distressed, "Oh well, the elders can't blame me for going against their orders if it was the Seijyutsukai-sana who wanted it this way…"

"So Kai goes."

"Kai-san can go…" Aoi sighed in defeat, while Takao leapt to his feet and let out a whoop of joy.

Perhaps it was that nagging thought in the corner of his mind that told him this could be dangerous that had caused him to act like this. 

It was just instinct.

And Takao had to admit, he had very good instinct. They tended to be right most of the time, and he wasn't going to risk anything.

=====+=====

"Welcome to the shrine, Takao-sama," An old man stepped out of the shadows of a wide throne room where Aoi had taken them.

This was the Holy Beast shrine, where most of the people of Jyuukei got to know their Holy Beasts. It was a sacred place, and it was also the place where the elders of Jyuukei lived in.

Takao bowed curtly, before asking directly, "Hey, is there any way for Kai and I to go back to Earth?"

Kai sweatdropped and shook his head, while Aoi stood next to him, wearing a slightly amused expression at the midnight-haired boy's antics – she got quite used to the boy's informality and slight rudeness, and she hoped the elders would be able to take it as lightly as she could.

"W-well… that is a hard question…" The old man stroked his long white beard in thought – seemingly not noticing Takao's rudeness, "The god of this world controls everything that goes on here – in other words, you'd probably have to talk to the god in order to go back to earth – and I doubt you will be granted permission, let alone come back alive…"

"…So?" Takao blinked slowly, absorbing information.

"The only way is to kill the god here!" The old man laughed a croaky laugh, and Takao facefaulted.

"So whether I want to help you guys or not, I will have the kill the god," He mumbled, blowing at his fringe.

"Yes, that's right, Seijyutsukai-sama," The old man laughed again, a loud appreciative laugh – Takao felt he could like this old man, given time to adapt to that laughter.

"My name is Elder Rashii, one of the three elders of Jyuukei," He nodded at Takao, then turned to Kai, "Why you are here I will not know – you don't seem to be any user of magic, you've got no aura – but since you are here, you will be here for a reason…"

Aoi cleared her throat, "But Elder Rashii! Kai-san knows a lot more than most people! Probably even more than me, I expect…"

Another voice cut her off, "But if he doesn't have an aura, what difference would that make?"

Kai growled slightly at the voice – the owner of the voice chose to drawl, and it was a mellow voice that shone with pride. Too much pride. And the aura of the owner of the voice… was strange. Kai frowned, he could not really put a finger on it, but it was strange.

"Elder Kaede," Aoi nodded at the woman that strode in, holding her head high up and her nose in the air. Elder Kaede was not old, and was probably only in her mid-twenties, she was slim, tall and held herself with elegance and royalty.

"So you are Takao…" She stopped and looked at Takao, who began to feel uncomfortable under her intense stare, "Hmmm, interesting…" She then walked over to Elder Rashii, "Are you sure about allowing outsiders in?" She stared pointedly at Kai, who glared at her. She ignored him and twirled a strand of raven-black hair around her fingers.

"If Kai had come to Mekaiina, he would be here for a reason." Elder Rashii replied, quite firmly, and Kaede frowned, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"What Beast does Takao-sama have?" Another voice, this time a young male, cut in, and Takao literally leapt three feet in the air when the owner of the voice appeared behind him. 

"We don't know… but I heard from Aoi that it is under the Water Element…" Rashii replied

"Ah… the Water element…" The guy nodded, before grinning at Takao, "The name's Raimei."

Takao nodded, while Kai frowned in a corner. Now that the throne room had more than 3 auras, he couldn't really differentiate which person did the aura emit from.

"Well, I think we ought to tell Takao-sama a bit more about his job and all…" Rashii began, but Kaede cut in,

"We ought to tell Takao-sama a bit more about what is happening and his job _without_ outsiders listening to it." 

Kai growled, and the raven-haired elder glared back.

"I think," Raimei grinned sheepishly, "It may sound stupid, but we should really find out what is Takao-sama's Seijyu… After all, so long as we can confirm his Seijyu _is_ Seiryuu, we will know for sure that he is the legendary Seijyutsukai. There have been many cases of people just entering the world for no reason…"

Takao blinked.

Rashii nodded, "That rather makes sense. Even thought Takao-sama comes from Earth, and does show his abilities as a strong Seijyutsukai, he may not be Seiryuu's – the only water elemental beast among our four guardians, excluding the god – chosen one. And if he isn't, we should not be dragging him into this…"

Kaede shrugged and sniffed, "Whatever you guys say, so long as we aren't letting any outsiders that could pose danger to us hear anything confidential."

Kai resisted the urge to roll his eyes, how many times did that idiotic woman have to repeat the same thing for? 

"Well, then…" Raimei dusted his hands and motioned to a doorway, "Would you follow me, Takao-sama…?"

"Uh… ok…" Takao nodded and thrust his hands into his pockets, following. Funny though, he remembered that he had always kept his Beyblade in his pockets[3], but now he could hardly feel it. However worried he was, he shrugged it off. He was far too confused to think about his Beyblade now, perhaps later, when things got sorted out.

Kai sighed and began to follow, only to be stopped by Kaede, "Sorry 'bout this, kid, but you aren't going to be allowed to enter."

He glared.

She glared back.

Aoi sweatdropped, "Elder Kaede really isn't that bad, she just gets a little jumpy about outiders… lately there have been cases of people infested by darkness, and they are posing as a threat for us… so…" She took the chance to explain as Kaede followed Takao and Raimei through the doorway.

Kai snorted, "What makes her so sure I'm an outsider?"

Aoi looked at Kai, "Huh?"

"Never mind," Kai shrugged it off, leaving Aoi confused.

-----+-----

Raimei led Takao into a room, followed shortly by Kaede, who shut the wooden door behind her. The room was simple, rather small, and empty, except for a circle in the middle of the room with weird symbols carved into the floor.

"Funny, Raimei, I don't remember using these type of rooms to find out what one's Seijyu was…" Kaede looked around, frowning.

Raimei shrugged, "I don't know, but this morning a Journeyman came in with the message that the rooms had changed and we were to use this room for finding out one's Seijyu."

"Hnnn…?" Kaede took it all in, and looked amused, "Well, then, shall we begin?"

"Well then, Takao-sama, would you step into the circle and follow my directions…?"  


Takao obliged, stepping into the circle cautiously. Nothing really felt different.

"Okay, now, you close your eyes, and focus on nothingness. Don't think about anything," Raimei gave the directions, and Takao followed – not to much ease. Things kept popping into his mind. And just when he thought he was thinking about nothing, he started thinking about Beyblade, Kai, food, Max, Rei, Kyojyu, Dragoon and…!!!

"Focus, Takao-sama…"

Focus. Focus. Focus. He missed Tempura. Focus. Focus. Focus…

… Pudding is delicious…

Focus. FOCUS. F.O.C.U.S.

… Blank. Empty. Darkness.

Funny how everything just disappeared. There wasn't even a gradient. It just suddenly came – darkness.

And out of that darkness, he could hear something. It was only a slight echo…

__

"Kono yo no naka no subete no kinirou mono: raimei, kaminari yo. Ima, koko ni, Raijyuu no na wo kake, raitei no chikara wo ware no mono ni nare…!" [4]

Funny. He remembered the words to that spell vaguely… Wasn't that the spell for an attack…?

But no. Nothing really came to mind. Blank emptiness. That was all.

Then out of the blank emptiness – pain. It started like small nibbles from his toes, then slowly, it spread upwards, the pain intensifying.

What was this feeling? It felt like… electricity…

"Raimei! What do you think you are doing?!" Kaede shierked as a Thunder beast – Raijyuu - appeared, crackling with raw energy, sent bolt after bolt of lightning into the circle, striking Takao one after another.

"Kaede… this is the only way to drive Seiryuu out!" Raimei turned to his fellow elder, the usual calm humourous look in his eyes lost, driven away by a maniacal glint.

"It isn't! Raimei! What happened to you?"

"Nothing. I have always been like that," came his simple reply, his attention fully focused on his beast and Takao, "All I have to do is drive Seiryuu out, and claim the power of the Legendary Water Dragon for my own…!!!"

"You're acting stupid!" Kaede growled, muttering a few words under her breath and sending a fire ball in his direction. To her surprise, it vanished in mid-air, turning into harmless smoke as it hit Raimei.

Raimei smirked, "Do you think I could allow you to attack? There is an anti-fire spell in this room, and only strong fire attacks can really take their effects here. I know your fire beast very well… not a very cheerful one, eh? Mood swings come and go easily, often making your power vary. I've checked, your Catoshia beast just had a quarrel with you yesterday…"

"… You…" Kaede looked at Raimei, eyes widening as his speech continued, "Why…?"

"Power," A simple answer, "Working against our god isn't the wisest choice… working alongside our god is the road to success!!!"

Kaede spat, "I never expected a person like you to be infested by darkness! Slime!"

Raimei tutted at her, his amber eyes flashing, "Words don't work, Kaede. Now you can sit there quietly and watch me claim Seiryuu for myself."

Bolt after bolt of electricity hit Takao, he gritted his teeth, trying to rid his mind of the emptiness. If he could only just _think_. If only he could just _think…_

__

Flicker. Flicker. Flicker.

Blue light erupted from the midnight-haired boy's body, shooting upward in a bright blue pillar, and slowly, the pillar disappeared and a blue dragon materialised.

(A/N: My vocab died. O_O)

Seiryuu.

Raimei let out a maniacal laugh, "Let the beast choose it's master by itself!!!"

__

//I do not swear loyalty to a minion of Ragiel.//

"Minion?" Raimei fumed, his composure broken, "My dear Seiryuu, that isn't a very good word to use, even though you are a guardian of Mekaiina. You are also not permitted to call Ragiel-sama plain Ragiel."

__

//I choose the names I wish to call and the person by which I call them.//

"Shut up!" Raimei growled, pupils dilating, a ball of electricity forming in his hands, his Raijyuu let out a roar, and he sent the ball flying at full speed toward the blue dragon.

__

Flicker. Flicker. Flicker.

The blue light faded, and the ball came into contact not with the blue dragon, but with Takao, sending him crashing into one of the walls.

"Itteeeehhh…" [A way of saying "Owww" in jap] Takao groaned, he felt rather paralysed and numb, but at least – for some reason or another – his brain could think again. He rubbed his head. If he did rub his head, he certainly did not feel anything. He couldn't even stand up. "Wha…?"

"Boy. Where did Seiryuu go?"

Takao looked up, hazel eyes clouded over as he stared at Raimei – or what was once him. This person wasn't Raimei. That was what his instinct told him. And as he believed, his instinct was never wrong. "I don't know."

Amber eyes narrowed and Raimei moved backward, his Raijyuu stepped forward, "Then I may have to do it by force."

-----+-----

It was the yell that caught Kai's attention. Takao was supposed to be checking what Seijyu he had. And from what he knew, it wasn't supposed to be painful.

"What happened?" Aoi looked bewildered, "Was that Takao-sama?"

But when she turned, Kai was already gone.

"AAAA!!! MOUUUU!!!" Aoi let out a shierk of annoyance, "People from another world…!"

And it was then Aoi found out – she really knew nothing much about Kai…

-----+-----

Takao gritted his teeth, as he tried to push himself upward. He made it a point to mentally note that he would hate lightning and thunder from now on. 

__

Well, went the annoying voice in his head, _At least you've learnt that you can use your magic to make a shield._

He growled at himself, now wasn't really the time to be sarcastic. Water shields were not the best choice when fighting with a Thunder beast. At least it helped decreased the damage. Which wasn't really a great help when the damage was too big for one to handle anyway.

The shield just made the damage slightly easier to handle, but still rather big.

"SAY IT! WHERE DID YOU HIDE SEIRYUU!?"

"I said. I. Did. Not. Hide. Seiryuu." Takao said through gritted teeth. Partly because he was annoyed. And partly because he was getting a little too drained to talk in full sentences.

And of course, a drained Seijyutsukai never managed to keep a firm grip to their spells – in other words, their spells' effects would disappear… 

… And the thunder beast took the chance to pounce on him and keep him on the ground with one paw. Raijyuu looked from the boy trapped beneath his paw to his master, who was currently kept busy by Kaede – who decided that if she could not use magic, she would try physical damage, and was putting her staff to good use.

Raimei smiled darkly, blocking blow by blow of Kaede's staff with his sword, though receiving some damage, he didn't really seem to be starting to tire. 

Flames. That was what the door burst into. Red, crimson flames. Raimei turned from his fight, thrusting his sword at Kaede causing her to fall backwards. Both stared at the door in shock. 

Kaede was supposed to be the only person who could wield fire in the shrine…

"What…!?" Raimei looked, rather stunned, "I put an anti-fire spell here! Fire spells aren't supposed to work!!!"

"Weak fire spells aren't supposed to work."

Raimei's eyes narrowed as he watched the doorway, "Who are you…?"

"Hiwatari Kai, Suzaku's chosen," Raimei did not really recognize Kai. No one really could. Because the flaming red aura around him flared up, and behind him, one could very clearly see a bright red phoenix.

Crimson eyes narrowed, a fire ball formed in his outstretched palm, "And I'd suggest you let go of Takao." [5]

-----+-----

Tsuzuku!

Awawawa… I was writing this past midnight. Told myself I just had to finish it… And I couldn't continue anymore, so I left it at that… Hope it seemed more like a cliffhanger. Heh. More or less cleared up a few mysteries in this chapter, and added a few more mysteries in this chapter. Mwahaha.

*-* Ain't Kai-sama cool? I just ruined him totally with my horrible vocab… U___U;;

And I've added more little teeny tiny hints… that for certain reasons seemed quite obvious when I went through the story. Heck, most of my reviewers wanted a TyKa anyway. Ohohohoho… ^0^

Well, hope everyone enjoyed this… O_O R&R please!!! I need them to improve!!! ^^! Comments, suggestions, compliments and constructive flames welcome! Idiotic flames will be extinguished by Takao-chan and Seiryuu – who both have somewhat damaged egos due to this chapter...

Takao: T^T Why did you make me so weak!?

Seiryuu: *nod nod*

Aheh.

So anyway, just drop an idiotic flame with no reasoning whatsoever and he'll let some steam out on them. Yep. ^^

Side notes, nonsensical stuff, and author notes:

[1] While writing this sentence, I was like going all "The heck…?"ish. I made the sentences all choppy!!! And abstract!!! And I still couldn't bear to give away the god's name!!! So it's all weird!!! *bow bow bow*

[2] XP Couldn't resist. Hee hee, Kai-sama, all protective and obsessive deshi nee~ ^^* - weirdo.

[3] Where DOES Takao keep his Beyblade? O_O I kinda forgot. X3 Ehehehe… ^^** And I kinda figured at that time, he might not have really went, "WAIT! My Beyblade is missing! Let me search for it first!!!"… Or maybe he would. O____O Oops.

[4] Wahahaha! Another dose of my infamous jap blabberings!!! This is another spell, and for you all clever observant people, note that it's just a pint different to Takao's spell. Most spells are like that… So anyway, meaning:

__

All the golden things in this world: thunder and lightning. Hereby, in the name of the thunder beast, I shall wield the powers of thunder and lightning.

[5] Uwa. Sorry… couldn't resist adding this too! X3 According to the japanese fansites (and the japanese versions of the story), Kai never really calls Takao Takao unless it's a… special moment? Well, this probably isn't what everyone's special moment image is, but I was thinking:

Heck, Kai's worried! Does he even CARE if Takao notices that he is calling him "Takao" and not "Kinomiya"? X3 

[Chapter 3 coming up! ^^ Atashi gambaruu~] 

__


	3. Phase 1, Part 3

North South East West

-minted*candi

A/N::

OMG!!! *-* Thank you guys so much for your reviews!!! This is probably the first time I hit so high!!! Arigatouuuuuu~~~ vvv 28!!! I WUV YOU ALL!!! *tackle glompx everyone*

This is the third chapter!!! O_O Whoa, first time I really got this far for a fic… hee hee… ^^v

Heh, I'm kinda happy that most people gave me the "Kai knows magic?" kinda reaction for a review~ Well, I'm going to be answering that question in this chappy… I hope. O_O; I… must… gain… a… better… vocab… O____O|ll

Mist: So you've finally noticed. _

*ignores Mist* And the replies to the reviewers!!!

****

D.G-sama: ^^ Glad you liked the story~ And hopefully, yea, Tyson will be remembering the spells soon. And the reason why Kai knows magic…? This chappy!!! X3

****

PinkDevil-sama: Thank you!!! *-* You flatter me!!! *bow bow bow* ^^ Sho happy you dropped by and read and left a review for me again!!! I'm so honoured!!! ^^! And Takao keeps his Beyblade where…? O___O DAMN! Mistake! *whams head on table* Ooops… ;___;

****

Feelin Glayish-sama: WAAAIII! So happy you don't find it confusing~ ^^~ (I got confused when writing it… O_o…) And thank you so much for the compliment!!! W KYA! Arigatouuu!!! And you've got the TyKa fever too ne?~ ^^ Whewx! XDDD And naughty me forgot where Takao kept his Beyblade. *whams head again*

****

Dot Hack Malik-sama: Wai!!! Thanks for the compliments!!! And for adding this story to your favs!!! ;___; Atashi shiawaseee~~~ *-*

****

Weeping Angel-sama: Thank you thank you~ ^^~ It's continued, and it's a TyKa… well, I had major votings for it anyway~ ^^~ And I'm sorry I left so many holes in the story, I was planning on leaving them there to be explained in this chapter~ Most of your answers will be cleared in this chappy, so hopefully I'll clear up some confusion too~ ^^~ [Btw, you got nearly all of it right. 50% I guess… ^.^ But I won't give anything away… not yet, anyway~ ^0^] And I don't mind long reviews, kinda like them. Hee~vvv (A long reply for a long review X3)

****

Kyoko-chan: Xi Ying!!! ;___; Thank you for reviewing yet again!!! W You sho nice!!! *-* Thanks very muchlies for the compliments~ And here's my update! ^0^~

****

Rumi-chan-sama: O____O Whoaaa… it's ok, it's ok… O___O You must not damage your brain 'cus I'm looking forward to your TyKa fics too!!! ^-^~ And it's ok for not reviewing my first chappy~ Happy enough to see one review from you~ ^^ Here's my third chappy, hope you like it!

****

DaughterofDeath-sama: Here's the new chappy~ ^^

****

Kiina-sama: Heheh, great minds think alike… XDDD But I think Takao-tan's weakness won't last for that long… (But I can't give anything away… ;O;) It's ok~ People have people's likes~ I just happen to dig the Takao more because… well… the jap fansites… _ Kinda got addicted to it. And by following the jap version, it would make more sense for Kai to say "Kinomiya", since it is rather common in jap… But calling Tyson his surname, (insert surname here), would sound a little different. So I decided to follow the jap version! _ Gomen~! [Actually, I dig the Ty-chan too… O_O;; X3 - Takao fangirl]

****

DespairingAngel-sama: Mwahehehehe… that you will know after you've finished this chapter~ ^0^~

****

TokiKasurmari-sama: Aw… a Kai/Rei fan? *sob sob* Oh, who cares!~ X3 Thanks for the review muchlies~~~ And I'm glad you liked the fic!

****

TechnoRanma-sama: O__O!!! You flatter me too much! Beyblade OVA? Naaahhhh… *ish very, very embarrassed and flattered* Thank you soooo much for reviewing naa~ ^///^ You ish my idol too!!! O_O Remember to continue Impossible! ^^ me waiting for it na~

****

KageYuri-chan: Heh. You still find him cool? After I totally ruined him with my horrible vocab? XDDD Thanks for the review~ ^^~

****

Backward-sama: Thanks for the review, and hope you'll like this chappy too~

****

Mandy-sama: X3 I love you too!!! XDDD hee hee… Yea, took me quite a while to write, but all the reviews from all you lovely people makes it all rewarding~ ^^ Thank you very much!!! *glompx*

****

Bomb-sama: YAY! Thank you so much for the compliment!~ ^.^vvv

****

Red Countess-sama: I think I will be continuing this… can't let everyone down!!! *nods head in determination* ^^ Hope this chapter will be better than the first nyo! [P.S: Gomen for not really reading Evermind properly… I went through it… but I'm not a really great fan of Rei/Kai fics… U___U SOWWY!!! *begs for forgiveness*]

****

Amara-sama: Glad you like this! 3rd chappy desu yo!!! X3

****

Mystic-sky-dragon-sama: Well… ^^ 3rd chappy up! ^^

Wheee~ I like doing review replies!!!

Mist: Next time you can just send each of them a personal e-mail… _ Geeze, restrict yourself, this ain't a column, it's a FANFIC.

I know I know~~~ =_= Ok, disclaimer.

Mist: Minted*Candi cannot own Beyblade. If she does, it's the end of the world. So run when you get the news.

_ Well, that's creative.

Mist: I take it as a job.

… Well, anyway~ Though this is getting repetive~ Japanese name usage!!!

Takao – Tyson 

Kai – Kai

Rei – Ray

Max – Max

Kyojyu – Kenny

And finally…!!!

[*][+]~[+][*]

****

[Phase 1][Part 3][Kindle.Flicker.Douse]

__

Let the knowledge burn bright like a candle, until it burns down…

"Mmmmnnn…?" Hazel orbs opened slowly to come in contact with clear cerulean. Blink. Blink. Blink. "WAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

"Takao-sama?" 

Takao blinked, sitting up in a bed in an unfamiliar room, "Whaa…?"

Aoi smiled, "Looks like you're okay… you really got Elder Rashii and Elder Kaede worried back there... after Kai-sama killed Raimei you were just unconscious and you didn't wake up… for… two days, I think…" She blinked for awhile and counted off her fingers, "Yea, two days."

Running a hand through his hair, Takao tried to clear up the mess that was in his head. And just after he sorted it out… "Wait… did you just call Kai 'Kai-sama?" His head shot up and he stared at the Silver Wolf's user.

Blinking in confusion, he remembered that Aoi had only really called Kai 'Kai-san' and not the extremely respectful –sama.

"I had to change the name calling," Aoi smiled, "It would be disrespectful to call the Seijyutsukai of Suzaku just plain –san."

"Haaa…?" Takao looked blankly at Aoi, who just continued smiling, "Kai…? Magic?…"

Silence. 

"Wha… What did you say just now?! Raimei? Dead?!" Another question hit Takao as his brain began to function properly, but he winced slightly when a sharp pain shot up his left leg.

"Don't get too worked out, Takao-sama, it seemed like you sprained your left ankle in the battle with Raimei…" Aoi pushed him down, and grimaced, "Raimei was killed by Kai-sama. He was infested by darkness."

"Kai KILLED someone?!" Takao shierked, but immediately calmed down with a slight yelp when his left foot reminded him that it needed some rest.

Aoi frowned, "Raimei would have died soon anyway… anyone infested by darkness would…"

"I don't understand…" The midnight-haired blader looked at Aoi, his eyes clouded over with confusion, "Ever since I entered Mekaiina I don't understand a single thing!"

Aoi patted him on the shoulder, "Life is like that sometimes… but today we will try and give you all the answers we can give to you. Because you are involved, and you nearly lost your life because of that." She nodded to no-one in particular, and continued, "The Elders and I don't want you and Kai-sama risking your lives for something you don't know about…"

Takao nodded, adjusting his position so his leg felt more comfortable and looked at Aoi expectantly.

She took in a deep breath, and began her explanation, "Someone who is infested by darkness, is someone who has pleged loyalty to Ragiel, the god of the center. This person would gain power boosts, but would sooner or later die if their body cannot withstand the large amount of darkness in them. Most people can't withstand it, and Raimei certainly would not have been able to…"

"But Raimei… he seemed so… well…" Takao stopped, unsure of what to say next.

"Nice?" Aoi finished for him, her expression troubled, "Raimei used to be a very nice person… but he soon got ignored by all the other elders of the other villages because his beast was weak… he must've turned to Ragiel then… for more power…"

"And Ragiel told him, by defeating me, Seiryuu would become his beast, and he would gain all the power he wants?" 

Aoi looked at Takao, slightly startled, "Takao-sama, you knew about it?"

"I could more or less make sense of what was happening through bits and chunks of his speech," he let out a slight sigh, "It's really kind of sad… what had happened."

"It would be more sad," Aoi added firmly, "If Kai-sama had not saved you. Raimei, whether he was good or bad or neutral last time, became infested. And that was a bad sign. He threatened your life, and the only path for someone who threatens the chosen one of a god is death."

"Kai… he is also a user of a Holy Beast?"

Aoi nodded slowly, "And it's Suzaku at that, the Fire Phoenix."

Takao blinked, "Where's Kai, anyway?"

"He's…" Aoi trailed off, "Resting. He, uh… kind of collapsed after defeating Raimei… Elder Rashii said he used up too much of his magical capacity…"

"Where is Kai?" Takao repeated, this time slightly more forceful.

"…The room," Aoi pointed to the corridor and then turned her finger to the left, "On the left…"

"Thanks," With that, the chosen one of Seiryuu pushed himself out of the bed with his right hand, and limped out of the door.

"Takao-sama? Do you need any help…?" Aoi looked after the slowly limping figure of the boy, slightly worried.

"I'm okaaaaayyy… Whoaaa…!" A dull thump, and Aoi rushed out of the room, only to see Takao pushing himself up from the ground and continuing with his limp to the room a few metres away from where he was.

"You don't look okay," Aoi sighed and helped him to stable himself by holding on to his arm, "And your foot doesn't seem like it needs all the extra pressure."

Takao blinked, then turned to Aoi and grinned, "With Kai injured, I can't just lie in my bed… I've got to go… and look…" He broke away from Aoi's grasp, and limped over to the door, grabbing at the door frame in an attempt to balance himself, "At the pathetic him."

Aoi smiled back, "Okay then." She looked at Takao once more, and let out a slight giggle, "People from another world…"

Takao looked at her in surprise, not really understanding what she meant, but she shook her head and walked away, waving an arm at him to tell him to go about his business. He grinned and limped into the room.

===+===

"Kaaaaiiii…" Poke. Poke. Poke.

"Mrrgh…"

"Kaaaiiiii?…" Poke. Poke. Poke.

"Kinomiya. Stop it."

"You're awake!" Takao beamed down at the wine-red-eyed [1] boy, waving down at him.

Kai growled, running a hand through his hair and pushing himself up, only to be pushed back down by Takao.

"You. Rest." He stuck out his tongue, hazel coloured orbs flashing slightly, "I talk. I ask. You answer."

Kai snorted, "Not much of a rest if you're going to be talking."

Insulted, Takao retorted, "Well, if you're just moving your mouth, you'll be gaining more rest than if you're going to be walking or anything…"

Silence.

Takao took that as a consent, and began, "Firstly, how do you know magic? I mean… I only knew when I came here, and my magic," here he made actions with his hands to emphasize his point, "Sucks. But from what I heard, it seems like you're rather experienced…"

"Not as stupid as you act, Kinomiya," Kai snorted again, then sighed, "If you must know, I've been here before."

"Ha…?"

"I take back my words, perhaps you are stupid."

"Hey!"

"When I was very young… around 4 years old, I accidentally came into Mekaiina. Met a person here who taught me about my magic. Then I was sent back, since it was a mistake that I came here… I was only supposed to come now… a decade after the 4 gods were sealed off."

"Ah…" Takao nodded, "Who was that person?"

"Don't know. He didn't tell me his name."

"How did he look like?"

"Don't remember. I was 4 afterall. Why are you asking?" Mild annoyance.

Takao blinked, looking at Kai, then answering as if it was of the most basic question possible to be answered, "So we can look for that person. Whoever who taught you magic must've known quite a lot about this… Ragiel god and all…"

"Dead."

"Ah."

Silence.

"Ha?"

Kai snorted again, "Dead. He died, just before he managed to send me back."

"A…aa… sorry…" 

"It's okay."

More silence. Takao scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, then he remembered.

"Oh, Kai…?"

"Hn?"

"… Thanks again… for saving me…"

"… I can't have you dying on me."

"Ha…?"

"… Never mind."

"I see you're awake, Kai-sama," Elder Rashii walked into the room, Elder Kaede next to him, followed shortly by Aoi, who shut the door behind her.

"I see you guys have finally decided to talk," Kai's eyes narrowed. It wasn't a comment. It was a demand.

"We will, we will," Elder Rashii laughed his laughter once more, and then looked at Takao, "And we'll have a question section just for you later too…"

Takao nodded, adjusting his position at the side of Kai's bed. Kai shifted to allow him to sit crosslegged on the bed, when Elder Rashii began.

"Mekaiina has 5 guardians to guard the world… just as your world, Earth, has 1 guardian, known as God. These 5 guardians were respectively Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, Genbu, and Ragiel. They were very very good friends, and protected Mekaiina well. But no one noticed that the center had a god, they only thought that North, South, East and West had gods. They only worshipped those four directions… Ragiel was upset. I heard that that was not the only reason she turned on them…"

Takao cut in, "She?"

Kaede nodded, "Ragiel was a female god… just as Suzaku was one… The rest were all male gods though."

Takao looked at Kai incredulously, "Kai… is there something you need to tell us?"

Kai shot a death glare at Takao, "Just because the god that chose me was a female, doesn't mean I am a female."

Takao stuck out his tongue and made a face, Elder Rashii laughed, then continued after clearing his throat,

"But either way, Ragiel turned on them. She stopped doing her duties as a god and reserved her powers while the other four very nearly overworked themselves. And when the chance finally came, she sealed the four gods away. However, she did not know that Suzaku and Seiryuu had already suspected her, and, along with Byakko and Genbu, sealed their powers into four sacred items that now lie protected in four shrines, and made it so that, after a decade, if they were still sealed and were unable to release themselves, their chosen ones would arrive in Mekaiina, find the four sacred items and the four parts of the Summon Book to summon them. And put an end to Ragiel's tyranny."

Kai nodded, "I have heard that before."

"I take it you've been to Mekaiina?" Kaede asked, not as obnoxious as before, though she was still rather stiff about being polite to Kai.

"Yes… According to the person who told me and taught me about my magic, I cam e here by a flaw Suzaku had in her spell. The person returned me to Earth and told me I was soon to return when a few more years past." Kai sighed, and Takao blinked.

"Eh… question!"

"Yes, Takao-sama?" Elder Rashii looked at him, "It's question time."

"So, in order to go back to Earth and, or, save your world, we have to kill Ragiel."

"Yes," Kaede nodded.

Aoi fiddled around with a strand of her hair in the corner.

"And how do we do that?" Takao looked at the Elders, confused.

"You will need to do a few things. First, you – Takao-sama – have to pay the Seiryuu shrine in the East a visit, and find 'Seiryuu's Orb' and the 'Blue Spell Book' there. The 'Blue Spell Book' contains one out of four parts of an important spell, and many other spells that work with Seiryuu. And Kai-sama will have to pay the Suzaku shrine in the South a visit to find 'Suzaku's Feather' and the 'Red Spell Book'. 'Seiryuu's Orb' and 'Suzaku's Feather' are both items vital to the summoning…" He paused, and took in a deep breath, while Kaede continued for him,

"And then, you will have to find the chosen ones of Byakko and Genbu. If they don't have their sacred items and spell books you would have to help them. Then finally, one person – the spellbooks will choose who – out of you four chosen ones, would have to piece the spell together, and use it in the battle against Ragiel."

Takao looked perplexed, "I think I get it… Think."

Elder Rashii let out another laugh, "You will get it all when the time comes Takao-sama."

"Question," This time, it was Kai, "Where is this Ragiel?"

"Center. Just as the Seiryuu Shrine would be in the East, and the Suzaku Shrine in the East, Ragiel's Shrine is located in the very center of Mekaiina. No one has been there though," Aoi answered his question this time, seemingly extremely bored just having to stand in a corner.

Kai nodded, and Takao massaged his temples. All the information was killing him. He wouldn't be able to remember all that…!

Elder Rashii now looked rather serious, "We would like to accompany you on your journey, but we have to stay in Jyuukei to guard the village just in case Ragiel feels like destroying it to kill boredom…"

"Aoi will accompany you, we send her on errands quite often, so she knows this area quite well," Kaede nodded at Aoi, who suddenly looked uncomfortable, "We will provide the money you will need, and a few supplies. And of course, directions. It is a definite must to travel in a group. Soon, Ragiel will know about both your arrivals, and she will stop you, if that is all it takes to keep her control on Mekaiina… Since Jyuukei is near the East of Mekaiina, try the Seiryuu Shrine first – Takao-sama might find the 'Blue Spell Book' helpful, then head to the Suzaku Shrine…"

"And fate will definitely bring the other two chosen ones to you two…"

Takao suddenly felt as uncomfortable as Aoi looked. This wasn't any video game. It was the fate of a whole world and his own life that was loaded up on his shoulders. Everything seemed so confusing, and dangerous. He did not like Mekaiina. He did not like pressure. And he certainly did not like so much information.

"We will head off…" Kai looked expectantly at the Elders.

"Tomorrow," Kaede smiled grimly, "We will have all your supplies ready. Today both of you have better rest."

Takao nodded. He felt dizzy.

"Now, if you would excuse us," Elder Rashii stood up, and with a polite bow, he exited the room with Elder Kaede.

Aoi stared after the door, then looked at Kai and Takao, her expression pained, "I…"

Kai cut in, "Don't worry. The pressure is something we should all have."

Takao nodded fervently, "At least we have 2 other people to share our pressure with na! I'm sure it would be alright!"

Aoi nodded weakly, "Jaa, Takao-sama, Kai-sama, I'll excuse myself. Need to pack for tomorrow."

Kai nodded and Takao waved, "See ya Aoi!"

With a soft click of the door, Aoi exited.

Takao sighed, "I hate lying."

Kai shrugged, "We all lie, sometime or another."

Running a hand through midnight bangs, Takao managed shakily, "I hate lying to trick others – though I think Aoi wasn't really reassured… But I hate lying to myself even more."

"Hn."

"… …"

"It'll be alright," Kai looked at Takao, who looked back, hazel eyes searching the older boy's face.

He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and nodded, "Yea. It will be."

The day was still long. And they were still lying. But they had somehow or another spoken their thoughts. Only one fact remained a silent echo in their hearts:

They would be alright. So long as they were together. 

-----+-----

Tsuzuku!

Awawawawa… corny ending… sorry guys that this seemed so hurried… I hate explanation chappies… I always end up confusing the reader somehow… @.@;;

Dropped a few more hints here… and a very very corny ending. X___x I need to commit ritual suicide. X3

More or less their quest is laid out… and yes, a few more questions remain unsolved… but more or less… ^^

Heex… this reminds me of an RPG game naaa… X3

Anywaaaayyyy… I hope to get up Chapter 4 soon naa! This chapter was boring naaa…? m(_ _)m Gomenasaaaaiiii…

Anyway, please, just drop a Review? So I can improve? Your review makes my day naaa~ R&R!

Side notes, nonsensical stuff, and author notes:

[1] Why did I suddenly switch from Crimson to Wine-red? O_O? Ah well… I just got influenced by this japanese fanfic naaa… sorry guys! Adjust! Eehhh… Crimson and wine-red are similar colours…?

Very little notes for this chapter naa~ ^^***

[Chapter 4 in the making! Gambatte gambatte gambatte!!! X3 Thanks all for your support!!!]


	4. Phase 2, Part 1

North South East West -by minted*candi  
  
A/N::  
  
Wahooo~ I know this is a really really really late update, but for some reasons all my ideas died. I'm so utterly sorry! *bows*  
  
Mist: And, of course, you were lazy?  
  
_ Shut up. Either way or another, I felt that I just simply couldn't put all my lovely lovely reviewers down and thusly! ^_^ Yep, an update. Finally moving into Phase 2! Banzaaaaiii!!! Hopefully everyone still remembers me... X3  
  
Doing my best to improve my writing style – my english teacher says I have terrible paragraphing and what not... I'll work hard!~  
  
Review replies, as usual~ Since everyone's reviews are what keeps me going!  
  
Tina-sama: Here's the update~ Rei and Max? =D Soon, soon...  
  
Kiina-sama: *dies* *revives* There. Now that I'm writing I'm alive again!!! Mwahahahaha!!! *mallet twacks her* Right. Back to where I was. China sucks bad too... Blocks too many fansites – good ones too... *sighs* I have to make- do till I get back to Singapore... *patpat* At least there's fanfiction.net! With wonderful wonderful fanfic writers!!! *worships them all* They keep me alive... ^^  
  
PinkDevil-sama: I'm so sorry I didn't update earlier too!!! *faints* I guess I just make them both pretty daft yea? (Taking that both of them are chosen, they should already guess who the other two are, but...) I will make sure that this ending ain't corny!!! X3 Hee hee... but I'm not promising anything. Mwaha.  
  
Mandy-sama: I love you too... XD Thanks for all your reviews nyu!~ And I'm not the best KaiTaka writer out there!!! *takes out list that unrolls and goes on forever* They are!!! XD Hee hee~ Here's the next chapter... No ritual suicide for me – yet.  
  
D.G-sama: Yep, no action basically screamed "boring" at me while I was writing it, but thank you so much for the review~ Am glad you liked it.  
  
Amara-sama: Glad you liked it. *sniffles* I feel so flattered... ;_; *sends an e-mail over* Wahaha...  
  
Assassin of the Shadows: ^0^/ Thanks for the review! Fourth chapter ish up! (Finally)  
  
Losingmymind-sama: Aheh... confusing? X_X; I'm sorry! Will try to simplify it sometime when I get the time to... but perhaps as the story goes on everything will click?  
  
Fallen1-sama: XDD An update from me to you! *hugs* Oooo... make-out scene? =D ... Heh... maybe later... ^^ *mentally notes it down* X3 Yay! Go Takao-chan! Kai-sama!!! SAVE THE WORLD! ^0^ Then you get to make out. Mwahahaha...  
  
RedCountess-sama: Eh? Japanese? In that story? O_O? Where? The '-sama's and '-san's? I'm sorry! Just can't stop it... all the conversations in my head are japanese! (Even when I hardly know any...) U_U; I'll do my best to make it plain english this time~ ^^  
  
TeamTyKai-sama/TechnoRanma-sama: m(_ _)m! You flatter me yet once more! (Mist: If she keeps getting praise from all her idols like this she will hyperventilate. _) Ooh, and Kai protecting Takao?... I'm just more comfy with writing Takao as an Uke... XDDD It's fun to get him hurt!!! *gets twacked by Dranzer* Sorry, Kai-sama... U_U;  
  
Mystic-sky-dragon-sama: ?? What did Takao say that wasn't right? O_O?  
  
SHF-chan: o_O I officially thank you for eating my ending. X3 Here's the fourth chappy!  
  
Goddess-of-Nature-sama: No problem on forgetting to comment!~ Am glad that you dropped by anyway!  
  
Kyoko-chan: Heheh... Thank you once again for your flattering review!~ Chapter 4 – from me to you~ Chux.  
  
FeelinGlayish-sama: Thank you once again! *bows down* Guess the information chappy is pretty classic... X_X; One day, one day I shall find a way to escape that information chapter... (Mist: That one day will be a pretty far away 'one day'... _)  
  
I feel that I'm overdoing the reviews... But meh... I love you all too much to NOT drop a message personally!!! *grabs every reviewer and gives them a hug* ^0^/ Right... disclaimer...  
  
Mist: If minted*candi ever owned Beyblade... Beyblade will not exist, since the idiot never finishes up anything.  
  
Flattering, Mist.  
  
Mist: My pleasure.  
  
++++++++++++ [Phase 2][Part 1][World of Darkness] One needs no eyes to truly see...  
  
Aoi wrinkled up her nose, kicking at the remains of what was – or used to be – the Mud Gnome they had just felled. It was already the 3rd day since she had left Jyuukei along with the two Seijyutsukai of Fire and Water. And throughout those 3 days, they had been continuosly fighting monsters non- stop.  
  
Of course it was tiring. She sighed, wiping her brow and looking at her companions, she pondered on about their quest. It was basically the same thing as signing a death contract, since Ragiel was a god, and of course, amazingly strong.  
  
The three of them now stood no chance of winning her. She herself wielded the wind of the Silver Wolf, which was basically useless in the face of Ragiel's Seijyuu; Kai was amazingly strong and seemed to be completely bonded with his Seijyuu, but the Fire Bird was not yet Suzaku at all, and was worthless against a god; and Takao...  
  
Her eyes wandered over to the midnight-haired Water user. He was, afterall, a rookie Seijyutsukai that had only managed to master 2 weaker attacks of the Blue Dragon. Throughout her observation of him during the past few days, he had yet to show any of the strength he had shown during the Scorpion-beast battle. Did Raimei's attack affect him? Or perhaps...?  
  
"Where next?" She blinked, snapping out of her thoughts, staring into two large orbs of innocence and curiousity.  
  
"Well, I'm sure that so long as we keep going in this direction, the Seiryu shrine would be sighted in less than a week, Takao-sa...n..." She blurted out the last syllable, changing "-ma" to "-n" just in time as Takao gave her 'the look'.  
  
'The look' faded into a wide smile as Takao continued, "Well, are we stopping anywhere? Like a town? For food? I mean, it's like, ages since we've had some decent food..." Takao's eyes sparkled, and the message that he wanted to convey got through.  
  
"Is that all you think about?" Came Kai's snort, not meaning to be an answer to that particular question, and was ignored by Takao anyway.  
  
"Weeeeellll..." Aoi started slowly, revising her mental map and scanning it for nearby towns, "There is a town nearby..."  
  
"Wahoo! Food! Banzaaaiii!!!" Takao leapt up at her reply, cutting her sentence short and very subtly forcing her to agree to his next plan – to eat. Kai sighed.  
  
Aoi dusted herself off slightly, before turning around, a finger pointing meaningfully at a small rocky path that lay in front of them. Takao laughed, but stopped his antics and hurried after her, Kai following them shortly.  
  
It was not long before their surroundings began to change. Lush green vegetation became wilted brown corpses of trees and bushes, and the soft ground cushioned with green grass became hard, dry and crusty – with no sign of green grass.  
  
"Ew... Is it just me, or is it that something smells bad?" Takao wrinkled up his nose, tripping slightly over something that greatly resembled an animal bone.  
  
"Something smells bad," Came Kai's quiet reply.  
  
Aoi stopped short, cerulean eyes flashing, "Alright. I know you're out there."  
  
Both Takao and Kai seemed to be surprised by her sudden command, though Takao's reaction was a little bit more exaggerated than Kai's. "What? Who? When? Where? Huh?"  
  
Kai cursed mentally. Was there someone else here? Why hadn't he felt anything?  
  
Aoi dodged toward her left, and something that looked like a large ivory spike crashed into the ground behind her, purple smoke seething upwards accompanied with the sound of sizzling.  
  
Takao swallowed, and readied his battle stance, trying very hard to remember how it was like to cast his water shield, while Kai instinctively stepped in front of the Water user, eyes flashing.  
  
Aoi frowned, muttering a few words under her breath, and Takao could feel the slight gusts of wind across his face as two wind currents were sent toward a somewhat large mud-rock. It shattered, and there was a sudden flicker of a shadow as someone leapt away.  
  
The next spike came shortly after the rock shattered, and Takao gladly put up his shield, a current of water circling Kai and himself protectively. He grinned, "Hey... I remembered the spell!"  
  
Kai snorted something that sounded to Takao like "idiot", and he pouted in response; the shield fading as the water current disappeared slowly, droplets hitting the dry and crusted ground.  
  
Aoi sent yet another attack towards her target, her eyes scanning every single square of barren dry land in front of her as she calculated the target's speed, matching her wind to the nearly invisible shadow. This time, it hit.  
  
Clouds of dust whirled upward as whatever Aoi hit skidded to a stop, followed by a string of curses, then a few spell words before a few spikes were sent in their direction.  
  
Crimson eyes flashed, and each of the spikes burst into balls of flame, falling to the ground as fine gray powder. Kai smirked – the same trick never worked on him more than twice.  
  
The next attack came not in the form of spikes, but as a large creature, claws and fangs bared. The three of them leapt backward as the creature crashed onto the spot where they were standing previously, and Takao's eyes widened as he recalled the creature from one of the storybooks he had read a few weeks ago before coming to Mekaiina.  
  
Three pairs of glowing purple eyes stared into three directions, and another pair of eyes snaked forward, it's owner hissing fiercely. The lion's head roared, the dragon's arched majestically above it's counterpart, and the goat's head bent forward, horns toward them. The snake, that seemed to be it's tail, hissed again as the tail flailed around. [1]  
  
"Chimaera..." Aoi frowned, "A seijyuu."  
  
Her words confirmed Takao's wild guess, and he watched as the legendary three-breeded-creature stood in front of them, it's paw-like-hooves pressing dents into the ground, "A seijyuu? That means...?"  
  
"The seijyutsukai's nearby." Aoi finished for him, as the Chimaera leapt backwards, the wings on it's back that looked somewhat like those of dragon wings spreading and flapping in the air, allowing it to levitate next to a figure who dusted herself off.  
  
The figure shook black locks out of her eyes and threw her hair over her shoulders, brown eyes glinting in annoyance, "Aaaaa... I know Ragiel-sama said that you guys were a troublesome bunch, but I never expected three kids to be this troublesome..."  
  
Aoi grinned, "Reknowned troublemaker of Jyuukei, I was..." She nodded, while Takao sweatdropped. The grin faded from her face almost immediately as she continued, "Didn't expect Ragiel to be on us so soon though... Sending one of her higher ranked Seijyutsukai too... Honoured I am..."  
  
The woman smirked, her Chimaera landing in front of her, "Well, it isn't wise fighting with me, rookies... You don't want to die like your surroundings."  
  
"You did all that?" Takao gaped, staring at the barren landscape that lay in front of him.  
  
She nodded, a smile that did not reach her eyes tugging at her lips, a glaze going over her eyes, "Yes... all this destruction... Poison is such a powerful force..."  
  
Aoi backed away, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she muttered a spell under her breath, a large silver wolf appearing behind her, wisps of zephyrs swirling around it.  
  
"Aoi Kutamaki of the Silver Wolf... I have heard much about you and those elders of yours... Always starting rebellions against Ragiel-sama... Well, at least I get to kill you with those two chosen ones..." As she stopped her sentence, her Chimaera leapt forward, tail swinging toward Aoi, the snake's beady eyes bright, ready to strike.  
  
Aoi warded the attack pretty successfully, her Wolf leaping forward, and swiftly 'slapping' the snake with its tail, before howling, causing wind currents to rush forward, pushing the Chimaera back, and off balance. It skidded to a stop, paw-like-hooves digging into the ground and once again sending dust clouds flying.  
  
Takao blinked dumbly, feeling rather lost. Partly he was thankful that the woman did not go for him, and partly he was insulted that he didn't get to do something.  
  
Kai crossed his arms, studying the battle before him, his mind calculating the odds. Aoi was bound to lose. Sure she had more speed and a great capacity for magic energy. But the fact that her element was hardly what one would call offensive...  
  
The next attack from the Chimaera was stronger – the Silver Wolf struggled slightly, before pushing it backward once more with a growl. Aoi wiped the sweat from her brow, her breathing ragged.  
  
The woman smirked, and her Chimaera leapt forward once more. This time, the Wolf whimpered, and backed down. Aoi squeezed her eyes shut and braced for compact.  
  
A jet of water and a rather large fireball sent it flying as Takao and Kai ran forward, finally realising that they did not even take the advantage of three to one.  
  
"You okay, Aoi?" Takao asked the Wind user, who nodded weakly, her Seijyu fading away with a last whimper before she sank to the ground,  
  
"Whoaaa... First time my Seijyu actually got tired so easily..."  
  
Takao gulped, suddenly feeling insecure.  
  
The Chimaera leapt back to its owner, who was now eyeing Kai with great distaste. "Chosen of Suzaku. Hmph. Probably the strongest one for now. Guess I'd have to finish you first."  
  
Kai raised an eyebrow, "Try?"  
  
She frowned, spat, and her Chimaera leapt forward once more as she muttered a few words under her breath, and spikes materialised and took aim.  
  
A swift kick sent the Chimaera off course, while arrows of fire burned down the spikes. Kai looked bored.  
  
The woman fumed. Spitting a few more spell words out under her breath as the dragon's head opened its mouth, smoke like purple mist seething out of its mouth.  
  
Kai frowned, trying to figure out the attack, while Takao leapt forward, water currents springing up around him.  
  
The woman cursed, Takao cursed, Aoi blinked.  
  
The dragon let out a howl as a blue dragon clamped its jaws around its throat, and Takao sank to the ground, blinking furiously. The seijyutsukai of the Chiimaera raised a finger in the air, and a large ball of red energy was blasted out of the lion's mouth, dispersing the dragon and sending droplets of water everywhere.  
  
Apparently all that was too much distraction even for three heads, and when the Chimaera saw a large arrow of flame speeding towards it, it could hardly dodge. After a whirl of smoke and dust, it backed away behind its owner, one wing limp by its side while the woman tightened her grip on her own limp left arm, droplets of blood trailing down her hand and dripping onto the ground. She growled something about revenge, before disappearing.  
  
Takao blinked somemore.  
  
Aoi let out a sigh of relief as she stood up shakily, looking at Kai with newly found admiration. The woman had been right. He was the strongest among the three of them – to have casted such an attack.  
  
Kai, however, didn't seem that relieved.  
  
Takao was still blinking, his midnight blue eyes out of focus as he looked around, searching for something that wasn't there.  
  
"Kinomiya, what's wrong?"  
  
Takao blinked a few more times, and turned towards his left, grinning, "Nothing, Kai..."  
  
Kai tapped his foot on the right of Takao, crimson eyes worried, "You can't see."  
  
Takao sweatdropped, "N-no... I think I've just got some dust in my eyes..."  
  
Aoi jumped up, and stood in front of Takao, her face right up to his – receiving no reaction from the chosen of Seiryuu – her eyes scanning his face, she frowned, "The purple mist thing just now... I think it was some kind of poison powder... Part of its harmfulness has been basically eliminated by Takao-san's shield, but I think it's affected his eyes."  
  
Kai cursed, and Takao fell silent.  
  
"Well..." Aoi shook her head sadly, "It's pretty bad, but if Takao-san hadn't leapt in, Kai-sama might be..." She trailed off, and the other two knew what she meant.  
  
Takao was relieved, in some way or another – except the fact that everything was black for him now – though he couldn't really put a finger on what he was relieved about.  
  
Kai, on the other hand, was not that happy. Why had Takao done that stupid thing anyway? It was not like he needed that idiot to save him anyway. He could've very well stopped the attack himself. He growled, but kept quiet, gritting his teeth. He wouldn't let his temper get the better of him this time. It was just that seeing Takao like that because of him...  
  
He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to worry. "Is there any way we can get his eyes healed?"  
  
Aoi frowned, seemingly deep in thought.  
  
There was a moment of silence, and Takao looked lost, as well as extremely worried.  
  
It felt as if a black cloth was suffocating him. He just wasn't used to not seeing anything except black. He looked around pointlessly. Was Aoi worried? Was Kai angry? Why wasn't he able to feel their emotions? It was much easier when he could see... Or were they in danger? Was there another enemy out there?  
  
Panic rose like a flame in his chest, and he swallowed the lump that had somehow or another got up his throat and stuck itself there.  
  
Silence.  
  
He couldn't stand silence. At least when there were some sounds he could still more or less feel less empty. But when there were no sounds at all.  
  
He felt alone. "Speak."  
  
Kai raised an eyebrow at his request, "What?"  
  
Takao breathed in shakily, "Just speak. I don't like it silent."  
  
Kai's mouth shut and stayed shut. It was hard speaking just to stop silence. For him anyway.  
  
Takao sighed, then closed his eyes – or did he not? It felt the same – and his mind wandered off. At least if he talked to himself in his mind he didn't feel as suffocated or strangled.  
  
A sharp clap caused him to shoot up, suddenly all ears, "I remember! The nearby town has this famous doctor known as the Butterfly Oracle! She's said to be able to heal all kinds of injuries! We could go there and ask her to look at Takao-san's eyes for us!"  
  
Takao looked gratefully at Aoi – or tried to. Was he looking in the right direction? – grinning, "So I won't be blind for long?"  
  
"Exactly so, Takao-san," Aoi smiled, and helped him up.  
  
"Where's this town?" Kai asked, looking less pressurized than before.  
  
"Just a few hours from here, toward the North."  
  
Takao nodded. Walked a few steps forward, then paused, "Where's North?"  
  
Aoi laughed, and guided him in the right direction.  
  
After walking for five minutes, he strayed off the path again, crashing against a tree.  
  
"Ow!" He backed away, very nearly tripping over a rock, rubbing his head and cursing slightly. Aoi sweatdropped, and steered him back on the path.  
  
No sooner than later he tripped over a rock.  
  
"Argh. I'm never going to abuse my eyes next time..." He grumbled, trying to sit up, "At least I know how bad it is without them..."  
  
Aoi looked worried, "If we continue like this though, a few hours will become more than a day... And I don't really like the sound of camping out here at night.  
  
Takao looked puzzled, oblivious to his surroundings, but Kai nodded in agreement, understanding why Aoi was worried. They were attacked before, and there was no guarantee that the woman and her Chimaera wouldn't be back for them. Worse still, she might have brought back up this time.  
  
Takao was blind, Aoi was drained.  
  
If they really were to get attacked, they were doomed.  
  
With a sigh, Kai stepped forward, raising an eyebrow at the Blue Dragon's chosen one, "Kinomiya, how heavy are you?"  
  
Takao frowned, "Now isn't the time to tease me about my weight, Kai. And for your information, I'm very light now."  
  
"Good." Came the simple reply as Kai bent down, slipped an arm below Takao's legs and another around his back, before standing up.  
  
"Uwa!" Takao could've sworn he suddenly lost his balance, and the darkness in his head tumbled around topsy turvy. "Kai?"  
  
"If I let you walk, we're going to be stuck out here, thanks to your clumsiness." The reply.  
  
"Clumsiness?!"  
  
Aoi sweatdropped, before laughing lightly, "If Kai-sama's carrying Takao- san, then we'll be reaching town soon..."  
  
Kai nodded, then looked down at Takao, who was awkwardly trying to find a place to put his arms that were hanging down rather uncomfortably due to the way Kai was carrying him.At first he decided to leave them as they were, but after five minutes, he changed his mind. His arms were getting cramped.  
  
Apologizing mentally to Kai, he looped his arms loosely around the older boy's neck, keeping silent and awaiting a response.  
  
Kai seemingly tensed, but he said nothing and did nothing.  
  
Takao let it be, burrying his face in the Fire user's neck, dozing off.  
  
He was so tired... ...  
  
Aoi blinked, looking back at Kai, who had suddenly gone rather stiff, "Kai- sama, are you okay?" She got no response. She repeated her query once more, this time louder, "Kai-sama? ARE YOU OKAY?"  
  
The dual-coloured-haired boy's head snapped up, eyes suddenly alert, "Yes?"  
  
"Uhh..." Aoi sweatdropped, suddenly feeling awkward, "You're all stiff and that... are you tired? Is Takao-san too heavy?"  
  
Kai blinked, looked blankly at her, then shook his head, "No, it's alright..." He shifted his arms slightly, easing Takao's weight closer to his chest while his arms found comfortable positions to slide in.  
  
He was trying very hard to keep natural. Not when he had a very warm Takao in his arms. He looked away from the midnight-haired boy, making sure he looked down to hide the faint blush that somehow or another found its way across his cheeks.  
  
"Alright! We're here!" Aoi grinned, waving wildly at a large wooden gate, "Chou Village!"  
  
Kai let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"We'll get Takao-san's eyes healed in no time!" Aoi assured, stepping into the village.  
  
+++  
  
"And even though I said that..." Aoi looked to Kai apologetically as he set an awakened Takao on the wooden floor of a crowded inn. "I'm sorry! I really don't know where to find her!" She put her hands together as she bowed, flustered.  
  
"It's okay, actually," Takao waved a free hand at Aoi, "It's not like my eyes are in pain or not..."  
  
Kai snorted, "We can start looking for her, you said the Butterfly Oracle stayed in the village."  
  
Aoi nodded, "Well, true enough... We should."  
  
Takao blinked.  
  
Kai looked at him, then sighed, "Kinomiya, you sit here and wait, Aoi and I will go and look for the Butterfly Oracle."  
  
"Eh? Why?" Takao pouted, facing the source of Kai's voice, "I want to go too!"  
  
"You'll only slow us down, idiot." Kai grunted, but softened up when he saw Takao's hurt face and added, "Besides, it would be faster if you just sat here and rested..."  
  
Takao sighed, but nodded, "...Okay, I get it... I'll stay here and wait... Aoi, you can leave your belongings here with me."  
  
Aoi grinned, "Thanks, Takao-san..." She smiled, putting a small bag down on a nearby chair while she guided Takao onto another one, "We'll be back soon!"  
  
Takao cocked his head to one side as the footfalls of his companions slowly faded into the distance. He sighed. For a long time, nothing else but the busy hustle bustle of the people in the inn. Chatting, eating, making merry...  
  
"What do you mean you lost your wallet? Are you trying to eat a free meal?!"  
  
"I said, my wallet is missing! Probably robbed!"  
  
"Enough excuses! Do you think I would let you go off just for that excuse after you've eaten so much?!"  
  
"But what can I do?! My wallet is really gone!"  
  
Takao blinked, his head turning in the direction of a heated quarrel between a girl and a man, most probably the shop keeper. All in all, though he didn't understand the situation much, the conversation made him feel like doing one thing. Digging around in the bag Aoi had left with him, he brought out a small pouch-like-bag, standing up and walking over in the direction of the quarrel, "Uh... How much do you need?" [2] He clumsily dug his hand into the bag, and drew out a gold piece.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Oh, my my... Dear sir, that is definitely enough... Do you want to order anything else?" The shopkeeper's voice came as Takao felt him take the coin away delicately, suddenly extremely sweet.  
  
"Uh... I'd do with some more hot chocolate..."  
  
"Yes yes, at once..."  
  
The shopkeeper scurried away, and Takao looked blur, cocking his head to one side.  
  
The girl came forward, her footsteps trailing over to his table as he sat down, and her voice came, rather clearly with a certain ring to it that made her sound louder and clearer compared to Aoi, enquiring, "Is it okay if I sit here?"  
  
Takao nodded, "No problem."  
  
"Are you a lord or something? You're really rich..."  
  
Blue eyes blinked in confusion, "Really? But that was just one coin..."  
  
"One gold coin... do you know how much those cost? You could buy every single item on the menu here with that!"  
  
"Uwaaa... I didn't know it was worth that much!" Takao blinked, amused. Elder Rashii had given them at least three large bags of those coins! They were rich! Filthy rich! Like Kai was! Shaking his head of the sudden train of thoughts, he grinned, "Naa, I didn't hear about your name yet..."  
  
"Aa! I'm Akane! Akane of the Flame Hawk! I'm a Seijyutsukai!"  
  
"Oh," He nodded, "What happened to your wallet?"  
  
"Got stolen," he could hear the slight ruffling of a cloak as she shrugged, "I was eating, and when I reached for it to pay, it was gone... This poor village, too many corrupted men nowadays..."  
  
Takao nodded once more, though he really couldn't see any corrupted men.  
  
"Your eyes... What happened?" Akane suddenly asked, probably due to his unfocused stare into the distance – he didn't really know where to look to maintain eye contact.  
  
"That got affected by this poison gas kind of thing..."  
  
"Oh dear, that's pretty bad... I could help heal you, you know... For helping me with the money..."  
  
Takao grinned, "Naa, it's okay... Kai and Aoi had gone looking for a doctor anyway..."  
  
"Kai? Aoi? Who are they?"  
  
"My friends." He decided to keep it at that. Elder Rashii had said that there were some people that were prone to bashing up a person who suddenly said that they were the chosen ones of the four gods if they heard so. Going that far in an introduction with a stranger he could not see was rather stupid too. Kai would scold him pretty bad if he did that.  
  
"Aa... They're looking for... a doctor?"  
  
"Un, they said that they were looking for the..."  
  
He trailed off as familiar footfalls came his way. Very nearly knocking off the hot chocolate that the shopkeeper had just put down on his table. "Kai! Aoi!"  
  
"Takao-san..." Aoi's voice came, rather breathless and sounding quite upset, "I'm sorry!"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"We couldn't find the Butterfly Oracle. At all," Kai sighed, pulling out a chair and sitting down.  
  
Takao's face fell, but he grinned again, "Oh, never mind... We'll find her soon... let's just rest for today..."  
  
"You're... looking for the Butterfly Oracle?"  
  
"Who's that?" Kai's voice was edged with caution, and Takao hurried to explain,  
  
"Aa... this is Akane... Her wallet got stolen and all that, so I helped her pay the bill, and..."  
  
"Yes, we are," Aoi answered politely, cutting off Takao's sentence, "Why did you suddenly ask?"  
  
"Aa!" Akane laughed, "When Takao here told me that his friends were looking for a doctor I was rather confused at which doctor you were looking for... but if it's the Butterfly Oracle you're looking for..."  
  
"You know who she is? Where is she?" Aoi asked, suddenly excited.  
  
Laughter once more, and Kai scowled, "Why are you laughing?"  
  
"The Butterfly Oracle? That's me!"  
  
------+------ [To be continued!]  
  
Um... yea... O_O As I said, I was changing Akane and Aoi's roles around pretty bad... ^^; I know this is an update that took a long long long time! *bows in apology* I'm so sorry! But... at least it's up? XD  
  
I was stuck around the middle of the story... my vocabulary and grammar is suddenly clogged. All my sentences are choppy and weird. Yes, I'm sorry. U_U;  
  
Yea, and Takao was very... uke-ish naaa... In the beginning I wanted the entire thing to be in Takao's point of view, but it was rather hard for me to go about it in the beginning, so I left it at that.  
  
Yes, we have the classic 'bad guy working under stronger bad guy' appearing and all, but heck, I didn't even leave her name! ^^; Since it would be rather weird to have her announcing her name like all bad guys usually do, and that's cliché, and I'm trying not to make anything cliché... (though I most probably did...)  
  
The 'carrying Takao' scene? *bursts into tears* When I get my grammar and vocab back I'll make sure I rewrite it! So hard to describe!!! ____! So sorry to everyone!!!  
  
Please do R&R, especially if you have something to point out~ ^^ Compliments work well too!!!  
  
Mist: *twacks her*  
  
Yes, I'm sorry.  
  
Side notes, nonsensical stuff, and author notes:  
  
[1] Chimera? Chimaera? I've seen all kinds of spellings everywhere! ^^ Don't mind me if I spelt it wrong, just treat it as a made up name... *laughs* Followed the descriptions of a Chimaera in Devil Children~ ^^  
  
[2] *shrugs* I don't know... just the train of thought that Takao would most likely do that... I'm weird, yes I know...  
  
I wanted Takao's blindness to last for two chapters in the beginning, but I felt that I was going to send the fic into a long lag, and since most of the people are waiting for the action as well as the main plot, I decided to get going. This chapter purely existed for me to get Akane into the plot. *laughs*  
  
Max and Rei fans, I'm SORRY!!! *bows down in apology* But it's gonna be a while till they come in~  
  
Once again, till the ideas start running once more! -minted*candi yori! 


End file.
